This has been a beautiful week of connecting and opening hearts to others. We love serving in the house of the Lord and with that comes incredible experiences of joy and love. I especially enjoy when the Lord puts me in the path of others that will uplift and strengthen me. I hope that I am able to do the same for them. This week, I met a wonderful woman who was celebrating her 60th wedding anniversary by coming to Palmyra and performing sealings in the temple with her husband. I had a few minutes to visit with her and she told me the story of her wedding and it was incredible. She was married on the same day as her friend and she says that she borrowed the day with her friend. The two couples were sealed in the Mesa temple in the sealing room; one after the other. Unfortunately, her friend passed away two years ago. I pondered on the fact at how connected those two families are. The daughter of the woman who passed away, made sure to call this lady and had the opportunity to talk about the anniversary and her mom who is now on the other side of the veil. The 60 plus years that these two families have been joined on earth continues on the other side.

We are enjoying the special groups who book baptistry sessions in the temple. They come from all over the United States. It is so surprising to me because in Canada, I only know of Stake Baptistry days done in the temple of their district. My biggest temple trip as a youth was when we lived in Ontario and the closest temple was Washington, D.C. where we travelled to once a year. It was a really big deal and I still have in my memory the drive at night coming along the parkway and seeing the temple all lit up as if it was rising into the night sky. We would travel in cars with our leaders. Today many tour buses drive up to the Palmyra temple and unload our eager patrons. One of our groups this past week was all boys on their High Adventure camp. They told me it was for the boys to experience hiking and camping in a area that provided an experiece that stretched them and helped them to learn new skills. I was a little worried about how they would arrive, but they were all showered and dressed as if they were ready to pass the sacrament on a Sunday. They were incredible young men. I noticed the tie of a 12 year old and how uniquely he had created the knot. I asked him about it and he said that he designed it himself. It was so beautifully done! As they were leaving, they reminded me that I still had to explain what a “Cream Can” dinner was. That was a unique conversation to be having in the foyer of the temple!

This is a way to cook for a family without a lot of work. Erik and I bought three of these items for a family reunion. Ours are a little bigger and can feed 15 people from each one. The above model will feed 10 people. This is an updated version of the old milk can cookers used by ranchers and farmers to cook meals over campfires while everyone worked. My first experience was at a dinner held at the home of Premachuk’s, west of Olds. We were shocked to learn that we didn’t need to bring anything beyond either a salad or a dessert. This is seriously, one of the best tasting meals! To me, everything tastes better eaten outdoors. Fresh and flavorful, food cooked in this unique cooker maintains its natural flavor because the steam does not leach away the flavors and nutrients. Because it works over any heat source, the CanCooker works great on campfires, camp stoves, propane stoves, charcoal or gas grills, turkey fryers, stove tops, and more. And because you simply load it up with food, put it on the fire, and wait about an hour, you can keep working or playing until your meal comes out hot and ready to eat! Once the cooking time is finished, you simply empty the can cooker into a large bowl and everyone serves themselves.

We put the following foods into ours which is the 10 gallon can. Cut recipe in half for the smaller can.

• 12 -15 potatoes, washed and cut in half
• 6 onions, left whole (I do quarter my onions)
• 12 carrots, cut into 3 to 4 inch chunks
• 2 heads cabbage, quartered
• 1 whole stock of celery
• 12 ears corn on the cob, cut in half (stand them up on the bottom of the can)
• 12 bratwursts (Italian sausages are good, as are spicier versions.) or
• 12 other sausages (Italian sausages are good, as are spicier versions.)
• 1 liter of broth of your choice, beef, chicken stock or water.
• 1 bottle of Italian salad dressing
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Layer potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, corn and sausages in the cream can in the order listed.
2. Pour in the liquids and season with salt and pepper. (Can also add garlic, Montreal Steak seasoning, or whatever other seasonings you prefer.).
3. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and steam on propane burner for about one hour, or on grated fire pit, make sure it steams well. There is a vent and you start timing when the steam is coming out of the vent. Ours usually take about 40 minutes after coming up to temperature.

Don’t just use one kind of sausage and don’t be afraid to add at least some spicy sausage as it will add some nice flavor. It is not absolutely necessary to cook the sausage before adding to the can, some people say it will taste better if you grill it beforehand (if it is not already cooked when you buy the package). We have used Kolbassa and Farmer’s Sausage. You can also add broccoli and cauliflower to the recipe if you want.

Do not overcook,  it will cook the flavor right out of the meal. The can doesn’t need to be spewing steam like a locomotive, just nice steam output. You want some good pressure, but not enough to blow the lid off.

There are so many different recipes to use in the can cooker! We’re pretty boring and keep doing the same thing because we enjoy it so much. Tis the season for getting the can cookers out and creating memories with your family and friends.

This week we thought it best to use our museum passes because the end of the month is nearly here. We headed over to the Palmyra Historical museum. We were able to experience more than 200 years of history in this former hotel and tavern, built in 1826. This museum features 23 themed rooms so that there is something for everyone.

One of the most interesting to me was a small display about Increase Lapham, born and raised in Palmyra in 1811. He is considered the “Father of the U.S. Weather Service”, which is based upon his lobbying of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute to create an agency to forecast storms on the Great Lakes and both coasts. When the agency was created through the U.S. Secretary of War, Lapham made the first such accurate Great Lakes storm warning from Chicago.

One of the rooms was a display of so many dolls. I really, really don’t like them and find them incredibly creepy and disturbing. I was not much of a doll person as a child and this room verified that nothing has changed!

Another room had beautiful embroidery of samplers and other household goods. Oh, the days when every young woman must learn to stitch and create samplers to show off her work. We have a beautiful large sampler framed and hangs in the Bride’s room in the temple.

The last part of the museum tour was the Coverlet museum. Incredibly fascinating. They have a short video with history of coverlets.

I did purchase a modern coverlet produced in a factory that has all the historic buildings of Palmyra on it. It is a great piece to remind me of our stay here. Erik found a Christmas ornament with Lock 29 on it which also came home with us.

The heat and humidity is rising sharply and it feels like the coast of southern Mexico. I am extremely grateful for the air conditioning in our apartment. I am grateful for dresses and skirts and blouses. After what felt like interminable rain, we are now under heat warnings. Thus meal salads have become a staple and cool smoothies.

https://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/tropical-green-smoothie-bowl/#wprm-recipe-container-15196

This is delightful dish for breakfast; something light and refreshing.

One of the other temple missionaries (whose website I included a few weeks ago), found an art studio in Canadaigua and went for studio time to work on a painting. She had a great time and I feel incouraged to put paint to paper and try out some ideas that have been floating through my mind.

Oh, Walmart…the store where you can buy fireworks, haha. We ran into a couple of guys who saw our nametags and stopped for a chat. The one fellow said that he had better things to spend his money on than fireworks that last 2 seconds and cost a lot of money. I agree with him on these store bought fireworks.

So much truth in this quote! This is how I try to live my life. Where I am on the path isn’t the same as you but we can certainly help each other along this journey of mortality. As Craig Mills once said to my husband, “Cheryl has skills and gifts that you don’t have and you have skills and gifts that she doesn’t have. That is why you make a great couple!” We work together to fill in the inadequacies of each other. By having love in our hearts instead of judgement, we can help each other along the way. So, my friends, a little less Judgey, McJudgey pants and a lot more lovey dovey kindness. I am always working on this. Thank goodness that God sees my imperfections and forgives me for them as we should forgive others.

Have a wonderful week, stay hydrated and be well!